


Reality

by Naumaxia



Category: Naruto
Genre: Can be read as a friendships fic, More characters added if/when they appear, Multi, Ninetails Jinchuuriki, Spoilers, Three tails Jinchuuriki, Time Travel, aa in spoilers for prettying much all of naruto, but it isn’t in my head, kakashi centric, obirin - Freeform, save the world, time fix
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-06 00:31:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12805689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naumaxia/pseuds/Naumaxia
Summary: Names - words with no real meaning outside of ones own reality.After a while, all those important words have no meaning for the rest of the world, or their meaning differs depending on someone’s perspective of that particular person.If you could give them meaning again, would you?A world in which Kakashi travels back into the past in hope of saving the future.





	Reality

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [but remember from hereon in](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7740916) by [tasalmalin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tasalmalin/pseuds/tasalmalin). 



> Been stuck in my head for a while, after reading tasalmalin’s work. (Which is awesome so check it out) i know they wrote it like two years ago, but hey it’s never too late to praise something that good. Anyway, I thought I’d finally write this fic down. If you think of any better title ideas, pls tell me! I know what I have at the moment sucks XD

Kaka Gai - inspired by tasalmalin’s ‘but remember from hereon in.’

Sakumo  
Obito  
Rin  
Minato  
Kushina  
Lord Third  
Asuma  
Jiraiya  
Neji  
Shikaku  
Inoichi  
Obito...  
“Our comrades are still with us! Because we hold them in here!” A clenched fist banged against someone’s heart.  
“I would rather never see them again, than dishonour their memory by replacing them with people who don’t exist!” Someone must have said.  
Obito...  
Uchiha...  
Names - words with no real meaning outside of ones own reality.  
What if you could change it? Change this whole world?  
Kakashi Hatake has read enough books in his life to know that things never work out for those who mess with the slow painful passage of time.  
What if there was a way though... to know what might happen, should time’s course be altered. What if you could predict exactly what would happen next?  
Sakumo  
Obito  
Rin  
Minato  
Kushina  
Lord Third  
Asuma  
Jiraiya  
Neji  
Shikaku  
Inoichi  
Obito...  
I promise... this time... if I do it all over again... how could it possibly end any worse.  
————————  
It wasn’t until he was four years old he became aware of it, the never ending deja vu. It started with the death of his father, when this time around he did not cry. Not one tear...  
Another year passed and he graduated from the academy again. His memory appeared to catch up to him at this point. Not all in one shot like he had expected when it first happened, but in pieces only things completely irrelevant, or battle experience based first. Then as time progressed, and him and his team headed towards the chunin exams he remembered more clearly the less fortunate events from his other life.  
He decided to make a list of things he had to do in this new world, in case his memory failed him again.  
Things I need to change:  
1\. Rin’s Death.  
2\. Nine tails attack.  
3\. Uchiha Massacre.  
4\. The Akatsuki.  
5\. The fourth Shinobi war.  
Easy enough...  
How I will change them:  
1\. Save Obito - If he just went with Obito from the start, it seemed almost too simple. That should hopefully stop the nine tails attack too...  
2\. Find Madara - there’s a tunnel under that cave... according to the old Obito.  
3\. Kill Madara - and thus avert the fourth Shinobi war.  
4\. Mediate between the Uchiha - without the nine tails they shouldn’t be at as high odds with the village, if I can stop it I’ll save Sasuke from his pain and maybe stop him from turning against the village.  
5\. The Akatsuki - ? I guess I’ll cross that bridge if I come to it...  
“Hey! What are you writing there?” Someone called. He covered the list up, flicking instead to the notes he had made in class the other day.  
“Nothing,” He said, looking up for the first time at this person who had been rude enough to interrupt his planning. “Oh, Gai!” He exclaimed, then mentally scolding himself as a look of confusion passed over his face.  
“You know my name!” Gai exclaimed. “I had seen your most youthful achievements in class and had thought to come speak to you, but that you would already know me I had never guessed!” Gai grinned at him.  
“I keep tabs on people in our class.” Kakashi shrugged trying to remember his usual temperament from when he was young, he didn’t want to mess anything up too majorly. Just avert the end of the world, no biggie.  
“Oh,” Gai grinned again, his eyes alive. “Well, would you accept a challenge then? To see which of us is the most youthful!” He pretended to consider it for a while before shrugging again and agreeing.  
He won every challenge by a long way, just as he remembered from the past. Well, except for Taijutsu, that was much closer cut, but he still won. It wasn’t like how he remembered fighting Gai to be, it was much more similar to fighting... hmm, well fighting Lee really.  
“Are we done now?” He asked when it all appeared to be over, Gai lying on the dusty floor.  
“No...” his future rival gasped, “One... one more fight.” He choked out.  
“Gai, you’re beat.” He said a little too bluntly.  
“No.” He began to struggle to his feat, one step at a time. “I won’t give up! I will prove myself!” He tripped and collapsed again, this time grabbing hold of Kakashi’s ankle instead.  
“You will.” Kakashi said. He sat down next to Gai, and pulled out a first aid kit, beginning to strap the others wounds. “It’s hardly your fault you lost.” He said, not unkindly but with a certain reserve. “I have years more experience than you. You’ll catch up eventually.”  
“I’m older than you!” Gai protested pouting.  
“Hmm, not really... how do I explain this?” He contemplated it for a while. “I guess I can’t. Let’s just say I know you, and as long as you don’t give up you’ll catch up with me one day.”  
“You’re just saying that.” Gai complained.  
“No, I truly believe you are the only Shinobi in our class who can surpass me.” Kakashi said firmly. “I promise.” Gai’s eyes watered.  
“You really mean it!” He cried, enveloping Kakashi in a rib crushing hug.  
“Alright, alright!” He protested, “that’s enough!” Gai let go and wiped his tears away.  
“I will see you tomorrow my Rival!” He declared upon leaving.  
“Eternal Rival,” Kakashi whispered to himself. “In this world and the next.”  
Looking down at his list, crinkled at the edges from when he stuffed it in his pocket during the fight. He added one more point tho the ‘things I need to change’ section.  
6\. Look after Gai.  
This time he would make sure he didn’t leave his last friend all alone.  
————————  
He had expected to make some unintentional changes to the world at some point, he couldn’t remember exactly when or where he had been for every moment of his old life. The first of these mistakes came roughly a year later, when Team Seven were headed for the chunin exams. With a full set of memories back, the nightmares had begun to return too. It was only natural he was acting a little off during practice, especially when he looked at Obito. Rinnegan and Ten Tails glaring at him from behind those innocent joyful eyes. It shocked Kakashi to his very core, knowing how carefree they had all been despite the third great Shinobi war raging on around them.  
Minato seemed to pick up on his strange behaviour first. He said there was nothing wrong, and concocted a lie about a noisy neighbour. Then the chunin exams arrived.  
“I don’t see why I can’t take the exams.” He had stated blandly, finally after all this time adjusted to his childhood voice.  
“I just think it’s be smart to hold the team back a bit, you’re probably all to young.” Well, Kakashi was only six so... “We’ll be sure to smash them next year.” Minato Sensei’s eyes glinted with a hidden touch of competitiveness that didn’t seem to register with his old memories.  
“You don’t understand Sensei.” Kakashi had said quietly. “We must take the exams this year. I can’t afford to let things go wrong.”  
“You are a strange child Kakashi.” Minato laughed at him. “Maybe If you feel this strongly I will consider it. It should be your choice after all...”  
“Thank you Sensei.” He said quietly. Then he left.  
In the end he chose not to take the exams, not that he was quite sure how it would affect the world, it simply seemed like a step towards changing the circumstances of Obito’s death. And of course it meant Gai made chunin before him which brought nothing but delight to the bushy browed over achiever. Kakashi only rubbed it in a little that he still had a winning record.  
—————————  
He made Jonin at the age of eight in this world. Obito And Hai were both annoyed, being nearly four years older than him and still both chunin. It was the first intentional change Kakashi made. He had nearly a full set of memories in this world now, and he knew that it was his Jonin promotion which had caused the tension between him and Obito in the first place. He figured allowing some time to elapse between the mission and the promotion would increase his chances of working cooperatively with Obito. The only flaw in his plan was that there was no way of avoiding Rin’s capture. He needed to find his way back to that cave if he wanted to find Madara.  
The mission started out somewhat similarly to last time, although Kakashi had already received his gifts from Rin and Minato months ago. They split off from Minato in the same place as last time, and as predicted, Rin was kidnapped at the same point. Knowing it would happen and being unable to intervene was one of the worst experiences ever, in Kakashi’s opinion. But he let it happen and waited patiently for Obito to suggest they rescue her.  
“Alright then.” He agreed, picking up the kunai that had been left on the floor during their short battle. “Let’s go.”  
“Wait!” The Uchiha called after him. “If we track him correctly as we were taught, then we should head this way,” he pointed in a direction not quite opposite to where Kakashi had planned to go, but almost opposite.  
“No, it’s this way.” Kakashi insisted.  
“But how do you even know?” Obito asked.  
“Because...” it was a fair question, how was he supposed to know... “just trust me, it is! I’ve been here before.” He said, not a complete lie but hardly the truth either.  
“But how do you know where they’re taking her?!”  
“I just do!” Kakashi protested again. What could he say to make Obito believe in him.  
“Well I’m not risking Rin’s safety just so you can prove yourself right!” And just like last time, Obito walked away.  
Kakashi continued down his own path, never quite losing the nagging feeling that this was exactly how it had happened before. It was true, he didn’t have a perfect photographic memory of the route he had taken to the cave, but when you’ve been a Shinobi for roughly forty years, you begin to trust your instincts implicitly, and deal with the after affects later. Two hours later, he was lost.  
Well, not lost so much, he knew exactly where he was. He was in the same clearing he had been in in that other world when he had decided Obito was right. He froze. Then he ran; ran faster than he ever had in his life, feet pounding into the ground, he had to get there on time, no matter what it took!  
He arrived to find Obito facing the same enemy as before, and he blocked the sword just like before.  
“No.” He whispered. “I’m too late.”  
“Huh?” Obito asked. “What did you say?” A tear started to build up in Kakashi’s right eye. Strangely even now time had reset he never cried from his left. “Hey! I thought you said Shinobi didn’t cry?!” Obito protested.  
“You don’t get it-“  
“Behind you!” Kakashi turned at the last minute, and a sword slashed down across his face. Just like last time his left eye was completely gone.  
He waited, completely frozen to the spot, expecting to be flung back into his own world, a world of death and destruction, a world where the past can’t change. He waited to return to the nightmares of dead comrades at his feet. In his peripheral vision Obito darted out like a blur, defending him as he lay useless on the floor.  
“-ashi! Kakashi!” He jerked back to reality, a pair of red eyes staring into his own. “What happened?! Are you ok?”  
“Obito...” he murmured. “Your Sharingan.” He said, remembering the part he had to play.  
“Never mind that! What about your eye?!” The boy exclaimed.  
“It’s nothing. I’m not dead yet.” He whispered. Grabbing the first aid kit from his bag he began to deal with the now ruined eye socket as best as he could. “C’mon,” He said when he was finished, climbing to his feet, already beginning to adjust to his new field of vision. “We have to go find Rin.”  
“Right!” The ensuing battle played out just as before, with the only exception being a rising anxiety in Kakashi’s chest. He slowly counted down the minutes until the roof would collapse, eyes scouring the surroundings for the Shinobi who would set the explosion off. But he couldn’t find him. He watched Rin’s eyes open slowly and gaze hopefully at them. Then he turned, already knowing what to expect.  
“Run!” Came Obito’s cry from behind him, and three sets of feet pounded the earth as they sprinted forward. This time kakashi saw the falling rock, he stopped and took a step backwards to avoid it. Obito spun around and called out. He yelled for the others to keep going, but never finished his sentence as something smashed into the back of his skull and everything went dark.  
This is it. I failed.  
“Kakashi, Rin? Are you both alright?” A voice called out, and Kakashi let another tear escape his eye.  
Nothing ever changes. History is all that it is. That is a fact of life.  
“Hey Kakashi!” A voice called even more concerned now.  
“Obito,” The name barely escaped his lips.  
“Yeah, it’s me, I’m here.” A hand grabbed his shoulder and lifted him up.  
“You’re alive!” Kakashi gasped. “And Rin? What about Rin?”  
“We’re both fine,” the girl laughed as she walked into view. “Really I can’t believe you doubt us so much.” She joked. Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief.  
“Alrighty then.” He hoisted himself to his feet. “I have a little suspicion, hear me out?” He asked.  
“Sure.”  
“Ok.” And with that he fired up his chidori to nearly full power, before slamming it directly into the ground.  
“Hey!” Obito yelled. “What the heck did you do that for?!”  
“Look.” Rin pointed to the crater in the floor, and Obito watched in slight amazement as the base of it began to crumble, giving way to a passage beneath it. “How did you know?” She asked him.  
“Erm...” he paused for a minute. “Call it a gut feeling?”  
“C’mon let’s go!” Obito exclaimed jumping down without checking in his excitement.  
“Obi-“  
“It’s fine!” He called back up.  
“But what about our mission?” Rin asked.  
“Trust me, this’ll only help.” Kakashi insisted, following his friend.  
The passage was dark and often with uneven footing, but soon enough it opened out into a huge chamber. The other two stopped and gasped, but Kakashi only grimaced as he faced the age withered version of Madara Uchiha.  
“Who is that?” Rin whispered not too discreetly.  
“Madara Uchiha.”  
“Impossible!” Obito protested. “He died ages ago!”  
“The silver haired boy is right.” Madara coughed out, a single sharingan gazing into his soul. “Although I’m intrigued to know how he found out.” Kakashi ignored him.  
“You want to be Hokage, right Obito?” The boy grinned.  
“Hell yeah!”  
“Then I’ll let you do the honours.”  
This time the battle of Kanabi bridge ended differently. This time it ended without breaking Kakashi’s heart.  
When they finally returned to the village they were famed as heroes. Especially Obito, who in his genius had sealed away Madara’s body and presented its scroll to Lord Third. For once everyone in the class was envious of someone else. Kakashi liked it. It was an ending worth giving up his eye for, and he traded his headband in the next day for one especially adapted to suit his new disability.  
Yes, Kakashi liked this ending.  
———————  
“Rival!” The declaration came as anticipated as the rain in the land of water.  
“Eternal Rival.” Kakashi corrected.  
“Oh, right.” Gai laughed. “Eternal Rival! Tonight is a night of great celebration! So without further ado, I challenge you to a youthful challenge of springtime determination!” He got no reply. “Kakashi?”  
“Oh sorry, were you talking to me?” He asked innocently.  
“Aghhhh! That hip and cool attitude riles me up!” Gai complained and his rival chuckled. Gai was just the same in both worlds still, it was what grounded him to reality, to his sense of purpose.  
“Oh, and congrats at making Jonin.” He added like it was simply a side note. “Finally catching up to me, eh?”  
“Exactly!” Gai declared. “So let’s all go celebrate!” He wrapped his big green arms tightly around both Kakashi and Asuma, with whom kakashi has been enjoying a peaceful lunch break before a certain disruptive individual had shown up. Kurenai, sat opposite then giggled.  
“My cue to leave you boys to your night out then?” She asked.  
“Of course not!” Gai declared. “You must join in too! It will be a most youthful experience for all of us!”  
“That sounded way too suggestive for my liking.” Asuma grumbled. “But I doubt you know the meaning of the word ‘innuendo’.”  
“Huh?”  
“My thoughts exactly.” Asuma broke free of the huddle and ran a hand through his hair. “So what are we doing then?” He asked. “Meeting for drinks or something?”  
“Sure,” the others agreed, some more enthusiastic than others. Not to say they weren’t all up for it, but it’s impossible to match Gai’s excitement levels. Kakashi had long ago figured it must be some sort of secret ninjutsu Gai had developed, since it just wasn’t normal.  
They met at Gai’s place, which was strange as kakashi realised that he had never once been in his rival’s house during his past life. The walls were painted too to bottom in a variety of mismatched colours, door and window frames included, and it smelt faintly of curry. It was nice. The whole place summed Gai up without saying a single word. It felt a little like the home Kakashi had never known he had.  
They talked continuously, about missions, politics, general gossip and of course specified gossip about people they knew better. He tried not to get too involved in that, worried that by predicting who each of his friends would end up with might change their minds and mess the future up some more. But it was relaxing all the same. Roughly three drinks in was when Gai suggested the eating contest. Of course he had pretty much nothing edible in the house (besides frozen curry) and so Asuma was sent out on an emergency mission to the corner shop, returning twenty minutes later with a dozen cup ramens. Gai won by half a cup, and Kakashi put it down to having eaten too much ramen in his previous life to be able to stomach the stuff anymore. The others laughed it off as another of his stupid excuses and in a way he guessed it was one. In a way he felt free for a change, nothing he said or did that night was going to change anything, and for once the weight of the world’s future was lifted from his shoulders.  
A couple of hours later they were interrupted, even Kakashi was slightly drunk by now.  
“Eh, Sorry if this is a bad time,” Minato stood in the doorway scratching his neck nervously. “But I really think I need to borrow Kakashi a minute.”  
“Sure, take him.” Asuma laughed. “The guy’s far too sober for my liking anyway.” Kakashi pulled a face at him, which in a way was proof he was not sober in the slightest, but no one picked up on it.  
“Well he is still underage so I should hope so.” Minato chided. The others gulped. “I’m kidding, you have your fun. C’mon Kakashi, let’s go.”  
The cold air outside kicked Kakashi‘a brain back into action.  
“What is it Sensei?” He asked.  
“It’s Rin.” Kakashi froze. “She was attacked on her last mission.” He paused, “Well I say attacked...”  
“Sensei,” The silver haired Shinobi stared at his Sensei with new found intensity. “Tell me exactly what happened.”  
“The hidden rock captured her.” He said, taking note of the way Kakashi held his breath. “They sealed the three tails inside of her in the hope it would break out once she returned back to the village.”  
“No,” all that time, every day since Madara died he had killed himself over research that would allow him to seal that thing away properly. Anything to stop her dying, but he hadn’t been there. “Sensei...”  
“She got hit by a kunai at some point whilst the enemy put on the guise of pursuing them. It wasn’t critical, so three tails took over then and there. The sealing team showed up maybe half an hour later. She’s safe but will probably be hospitalised for the next few weeks.” His student released the breath he had been holding. “I thought you might like to come visit her, and maybe talk to Obito. He seems pretty freaked out by the whole ordeal.”  
“Alright,” Kakashi said solemnly. “I will.”  
When he reached the hospital, he found Obito sat alone in the waiting room, head in hands. He was shaking so hard Kakashi felt like he was looking in a mirror of his past life.  
“Obito...” no reply. He sat down next to his friend on the cold iron bench. “She asked you to kill her, didn’t she?” He asked, already knowing the answer. Obito stared up at him, eyes wide in fear.  
“She jumped right in front of me, there was nothing I could do.” He whispered. “That kunai- I- I nearly killed her.” His hands were shaking again as he stared down at them in horror.  
“She’s going to live another day,” Kakashi said, surprisingly calm. “Sure, you couldn’t kill her, you let her down, and then she nearly killed herself.” He smiled. “But at the end of the day she’s alive and safe, that’s the best we can ask for.”  
“You really mean that?” Obito asked quietly. “How can you know what it’s like?” The statement wasn’t unkind, just unknowing.  
“I just do...” was all Kakashi could say.  
They went to visit Rin the next week, the minute visitors were finally allowed. Rin looked up in something like surprise when Obito entered the room, she smiled brightly when Kakashi entered. Obito sighed, but upon liking properly at Rin’s face he smiled instead. Obviously he had taken Kakashi’s words to heart and chosen to be happy for her instead. It was actually a little sad that someone like Obito was willing to give up so easily.  
“Obito, what’s wrong?” Rin asked, intelligent as always and not missing a thing, despite being barely conscious and propped up against a mountain of pristine hospital pillows.  
“Nothing.” He mumbled.  
“Well I have to go.” Kakashi excused himself quickly. “Sensei says I have a mission coming up.”  
“Oh, take care!” Rin smiled as Kakashi backed out. It was clear neither of them believed him. He couldn’t remember how many times in his life he had wished he could have spoken to Rin about what he did. Leaning against the door he could hear the voices on the other side of the wall.  
“It’s not important,” he hears Obito say. “You’re alive and you’re safe, that’s what really matters.” His own words repeated like that just reminded him that despite this world being happier, being alive, there was still pain and always would be. But Obito here was like the Naruto he had known so long ago, he would bounce back, he just needed a push.  
“I thought I told you before,” Rin said, “not to hide your wounds.”  
“It’s fine,” he repeated. “I think it would only hurt you to know. You’ve been through enough.” He laughed it off, seemingly light hearted. “Maybe some other time,”  
“Obito...” Rin seemed to take a deep breath, but Kakashi couldn’t really tell from where he was stood. “I know this isn’t about what happened with the three tails.”  
“Really, it’s fine.” He insisted.  
“Kurenai told me how you feel about me.” She whispered, words barely audible. The silence was kept for what seemed like years.  
“I know,” Said, a little loud r and more confident. “But that shouldn’t change a thing. You’re alive, and therefore I’m happy.”  
If Rin replied to this statement he didn’t hear it, and quickly darted away from the door before Obito could open it and find him.  
Rin stays in the hospital for nearly a whole week, getting all kinds of visitors, from the hokage, to Kushina, to the sealing experts and even a Jinchuuriki from another land. Kakashi barely finds the time to talk to her properly at all. Still, three days before she’s released, he manages to sneak in, bringing a couple of flowers and a fruit basket as an apology. Once again she seems thoroughly pleased to see him.  
“You know,” he says as if it’s only a mere thought, about half way through his visit. “I’ve never been happier to see someone in the hospital before.” She stared at him a little confused before asking why. “Well it means you’re alive,” He laughed, although he felt anything but the need to laugh. Deep down he knew he meant every word. “Not many people can experience a Jinchuuriki sealing, an attempted suicide, a tailed beast awakening, and a resealing of that same beast, and still come out in one piece at the end of it all.”  
“I guess so,” she smiles at him.  
“You should treasure that,” he smiles back. Then after a pause, “Rin, what do you think of Obito?”  
“I- uh...”  
“Does he know how you feel about me?” Kakashi asked again, completely unashamed of his directness.”  
“What do you mean how I feel about you?” She asked, a little confusion painted across her face.  
“Just kidding,” he laughs it off, “I was only curious really. It’s good for the teamwork dynamic to have a rough idea of how people feel about each other.”  
“Sure,” she mocked. “Nice try. Still, I think Obito’s great,” she said, “and not just because he killed Madara. I truly do love hi-“ she paused for a minute. “I didn’t say that!”  
“Hmm... you actually did.” He laughed.  
“I mean, I didn’t mean that.” She protested.  
“Give it up Rin.” He smiled at her, somehow pleased that she loved someone else in this world. “But if you both like each other, then why didn’t you tell him?”  
“Kakashi,” she sighed. “You probably don’t get what it feels like, but I nearly killed him Kakashi. He’s better off as he is.”  
“Oh kami, here we go again. ” he whispered under his breath. “How about I tell you a story Rin.”  
“Ok,” she said mildly, accepting the apparent change of subject.  
“I once knew a boy, who did kill his best friend. Not on purpose, they jumped right in front of one of his attacks, and he couldn’t move in time. Maybe he did regret it for the rest of his life. But deep down he just wished that he could have told them everything he had ever felt before they died, explained everyone of his actions and let them know that he cared about them. Maybe if he’d had a chance to do that it wouldn’t have hurt so hard.” He paused for breath. “Rin, Obito is as messed up as you right now, you can’t forget he nearly killed you as well. If you’re in the wrong here, then you’re just as in the wrong as him, there was nothing either of you could have done.”  
“I guess so,” she said. “Thanks for visiting anyway Kakashi.” She said, giving him his cue to leave her with her thoughts, and leaving him with his own.

**Author's Note:**

> What did you think...? I’ve got most of the rest planned out, should be another 1 or maybe 2 chapters. I did draw some pictures for this, but can’t quite work out how to insert them. XD never mind.  
> Would you like to read that?  
> Is the current arc length alright?  
> ???  
> :)  
> 


End file.
